Gigi's Easter Dress - Another Gail Doane Design

Spiritual -   "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold,  Oh Lord, 

                       You know the whole of it

                  Behind me and before, you hem me in and 

                       rest your hand upon me.

                  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

                       too lofty for me to attain.

                  Where can I go from your spirit?

                       from your presence where can if flee?

                   If  I go up to the heavens, you are there; 

                       if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.

                   If I take the wings of the day, 

                       if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

                   Even there your hand shall guide me,

                       and your right hand hold me fast.

                   If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall hide me,

                       and night shall be my light'

                  Truly you have formed my inmost being 

                       you have knit me in my mother's womb.

                  I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;

                       wonderful are your works.

                  My soul also you know full well;

                       nor was my fram unknown to you

                  When I was made in secret,

                      when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth

                  Psalms 139, 4-16

Sewing - This took me a long time...but, I had to do it.  You may remember a similar outfit I did for Gi from the 12-16-10  post.  This bishop and swing jacket is from Gail Doane's "Sew Cute Couture"  book.  I did use the designs from one of her ideas and the colors from another - my own way of mixing it up.  I will be carrying this book in my sewing studio and it comes with the patterns for a bishop dress, a yoke dress, this swing jacket, a jacket with bound edges or contrast bands for the older girl,  a wrap skirt, and several purses.  The size range is 6 months to 12 years, making this book a great buy for the patterns alone.  The instructions are clear and precise. These are classic patterns that will never go out of style.

Audrie's Easter Dress

 Spiritual -  Just think, on the first Holy Thursday, Jesus suffered in the agony in the garden, Judas betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver, Peter denied his master, and all His disciples abandoned Him.  What was the answer to all of this treachery and black ingratitude?  He instituted the Holy Eucharist.  "...He exhausts the resources of His love, and offers Himself to man, not only as the Redeemer, who will die for him on the Cross, but also as the food which will nourish him.  He will feed man with His own Flesh and Blood; moreover, death might claim Him in a few hours, but the Eucharist will perpetuate His real, living presence until the end of time."    That night, He also gave us a new commandment,  "that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13,1-15)  By washing His disciples' feet, Jesus showed us just how we should humble ourselves to serve our neighbor - the good, the poor, the betrayer, and the lowly.  "He revealed to us the perfection of fraternal charity on the same evening that He instituted the Eucharist, as if to indicate that such perfection should be both the fruit of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and our response to this great gift."  Divine Mercy, Fr. Gabriel

Sewing -  An all white Easter dress with a ruffle on the bottom.  That was the order.  She also wanted straps and some type of embellishment on the yoke.  Strapped for time, I found McCall's 5838 in my pattern stash which I thought would do.  I used a cotton/linen blend and found a piece of old lace and buttons from an uncle's mother's stash that I had been given. The dress calls for a zipper, but I prefer buttons, so I did have to do some alterations to the pattern in the back. (She did want a side zip!)  She looks like a doll in it.  I hope to show pictures of her when the Easter pics are taken.  I'm still working on Gi's dress!

Old-Fashioned Communion Veil

Spiritual - "And how many gave You over?  The heavenly Father gave You for us, and You gave Yourself, as St. Paul joyfully says:  'He loved me and delivered Himself up for me.'  What a marvelous exchange?  The Master delivers Himself for a slave, God for man, the Creator for the creature, the innocent One for the sinner.  You put Yourself into the hands of the traitor, the faithless disciple.  The traitor handed You over to the Jews.  The wicked Jews delivered You to the Gentiles to be mocked, scourged, spit upon, and crucified."  Divine Mercy, Fr. Gabriel    This is the horror of all of our sins, for each one of us is the traitor, the Jew, and the Gentile.  But, the great truth and the good news is the inexpressible love of Christ for His creatures that made Him willingly accept this Passion and Death.  Would there have been any other way He could have shown us who He is and how much he loves us?  Would we have believed Him?  Do we believe Him?

Sewing - I was asked to restore a beautiful Communion dress worn by the mother of a very dear friend.  This dress is to be worn by his daughter on her First Communion day this May.  I had to remake the veil and thought you would like to see it.  It is so old fashioned.  The headband is covered with flowers dyed to match the rather fading dress,  now slightly ecru. The veil is two pieces.  There is a cap that is pleated and attached to the headband.  The lower veil is trimmed in lace.  Where the cap and lower veil interface, they are gathered and attached wrong sides together to make a ruffle on the outside ... so sweet.  You should see it on the beautiful dark-haired child!

Preparing kits for Embroidery 101

Spiritual - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.  For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God." Heb 12:1-2  Hebrews 1-13 gives me such comfort knowing that Jesus chose to know pain and suffering for the sake of each one of us.  This inspires me and gives me deeper faith and courage to endure the trials and crosses in my daily life, because glory awaits me, too.  This passage seems to state that we are to look at these trials as "disciplines" because a good father disciplines his children.  I look back on the many hardships and painful trials I suffered due to selfishness, self-centeredness, etc.  I didn't always want to own up to my part.  Thank God, through the eyes of a growing faith, I see them more clearly now. They have made me a better person. Now, when difficult situations occur, I am quicker to see them as loving discipline which helps me to avoid mistakes, make amends, and forgive others for their transgressions.  Thank you, Lord, for your loving mercy.

Sewing - Life has been very busy lately and I haven't been able to get to the machine as much as I would have liked.  But, today I am getting all the kits for the hand sewing embroidery class ready to go.  The wool felt feels so good and looks so pretty.  I'm now a distributor for wool blend felt in this area.  If anyone is interested in this luscious felt, let me know.  I'll be offering childrens' hand sewing classes starting this summer and using this felt for those classes.  The kids will eventually move up to machine sewing.   I'm also trying to complete an order for seven daygowns for a baby boy due soon.  The client wanted them white or blue and very simple.  As soon as I am finished, I'll take pictures.

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